What was once a perennial state qualifier, the Hawks have been to state once in the five years since Ankeny split into two high schools. They were in the state tourney three straight years prior to the emergence of Centennial.

This season, they were a regional final loss to Valley away from appearing in what would have been their second state tournament appearance since the split.

The loss at Valley was the last game senior standouts Peyton Daugherty and Kennedy Thomas will play as Hawks. And although they and the rest of the seniors didn’t make a slew of state tourneys, they continued to rebuild a foundation for a storied Ankeny program.

“We didn't get a lot of state tournament berths out of this group (of seniors), which is something you strive for, something you expect with our community. But, they’ve gotten us to that next tier as our program grows,” coach Dave Bingham said.

Senior Kennedy Thomas played her final game for the Hawkettes, a 4-0 loss to Valley High in a Class 5A regional final.(Photo: Mark Davitt/Special to the Register, Photo by Mark Davitt)

Daugherty and Thomas headlined one of the state’s best offenses this season, the two of them helped lead the Hawks to a 28-13 record.

According the Valley coach Tom Bakey, this Ankeny group was a deserving state tournament squad.

“Dave (Bingham) has a tremendous team,” Bakey said. “It’s sad that they’re not moving on because they were one of the best teams in the state this year, there’s no question about it.”

No. 5 Valley (31-9) was a tough draw for the No. 9 Hawks as a regional final opponent, the two split their regular season meetings, with two wins apiece. The Tigers were stellar in the regional final, gradually building a lead and cruising to a 4-0 win.

The biggest difference in the game was Tigers senior Claire Stalzer. Not only did she have two RBI at the plate, but she tossed a one-hit shutout, striking out 10 while bogging down one of Iowa’s most prolific offenses.

“The game plan is just to not let their first three hitters (Daugherty, Jasmine Rumley, Thomas) kill you. And if you can survive that, then you’ve got a chance,” Bakey said.

"The difference ... was Claire Stalzer. She was just really solid," Bakey said. "She moved the ball around, she threw a good rise ball, threw a good drop ball. She had great command on everything, and so that was really the difference.”

For Ankeny, there’s plenty of reason to believe the foundation that this year’s seniors helped establish can continue to trend upward next season.

And this season’s budding stars will be next summer’s seasoned — and skilled — veterans.

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Ankeny's Malea Daugherty receives a high-five from coach Dave Bingham after hitting a grand slam in 2017. She'll return next year for her junior season.(Photo: Dan Holm/The Register)

One of the state’s best overall players, Jasmine Rumley, will be back for a junior season, as will Malea Daugherty. Marina Carter batted .404 this season and will just be a sophomore next summer.

Pitchers Paige Jacobsen and Shelbie Chambers both return for senior seasons after combining to throw 162 innings this season.

“I think we’re always going to be good, we’re always going to be competitive. We just have to get over that hump. We’ve only gotten to the state tournament once since that split,” Bingham said. “We’ve got to get ourselves back there so that we keep going back."

Hawks, Jags finish regular baseball season strong

Ankeny and Ankeny Centennial have advanced the the semifinals of their Substate groups.

The Hawks (20-16-1) are now winners of six straight after their 6-1 win over Newton in a sub-state quarterfinal. They're the No. 2-seed in their bracket and will play No.4-seed Des Moines East in the semis. Urbandale awaits the winner of that semifinal, it's the top seed in the bracket and the state's second-ranked team.

Centennial (21-18-1) has won four straight and eight of nine after getting by Mason City 3-2 in their first-round sub-state game. The Jags are the No. 3-seed and plays No.2-seed Valley in the semis. The winner of that one advances to a sub-state final against top-seed Indianola.

It’s seniors Jayden Maifeld and Drew Hill that have been leading the charge of late for the Hawks. During their six-game win streak Maifeld has hurled three winning games. He’s thrown 17 innings, surrendered just three earned runs and struck out a whopping 25 batters in the wins. Hill is batting .450 with five runs scored and seven RBI during the win streak.

The young Jags have been led by sophomore Trey Morris. He’s batting .345 heading into the sub-state semis and leads the team with 25 RBI. He’s getting it done on the mound, too, with a 2.12 ERA in 36 and one-third innings pitched, and was stellar while pitching 6 and one-third innings of one-hit ball in the win over Mason City.